Every year, 80 million Easter eggs are purchased in the UK. Waste management experts BusinessWaste.co.uk have calculated that around 5,672 tonnes of packaging will be binned this Easter. After analysing 10 popular high-street Easter eggs, the experts found that 25% of an Easter egg is packaging, with the remaining 75% chocolate.
BusinessWaste.co.uk
Calculating Easter packaging waste
“Over the years, many Easter egg producers have made great strides to reduce the use of plastic in their packaging. This is great to see, as producing plastic is resource-intensive; producing one tonne of plastic generates 5 tonnes of carbon dioxide,” said Mark Hall, Waste Management Expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk. “We’d love to see manufacturers pushing further to reduce unnecessary packaging with Easter products. Not only would this benefit the environment, but it would also allow consumers to clearly see what produce they’re getting for their money.”
In terms of Easter egg packaging, on average, they are made up of:
- 6.4g of plastic.
- 62g of cardboard.
- 2.3g of foil.
Taking these numbers into consideration, in addition to the approximate 80 million Easter eggs sold each year in the UK, this quickly stacks up to the estimated 5,672 tonnes of packaging. As a result, Easter egg sales in the UK could generate:
- 512 tonnes of plastic, which is equivalent to 1,408 tonnes CO₂.
- 4,960 tonnes of cardboard.
- 184 tonnes of foil.
To help combat packaging waste caused by Easter eggs, BusinessWaste.co.uk suggests the following five solutions:
- Go plastic-free: Eliminating all plastic packaging from Easter egg products, where possible, a feat many brands have already achieved.
- Utilising recycled materials: Opting for recycled materials can help reduce the environmental impact of packaging, for example, using recycled cardboard for Easter egg boxes.
- Provide on-pack instructions: Providing on-pack instructions that inform consumers on separating and recycling packaging.
- Minimising packaging: By reducing the need for plastic display shells.
- Opting for shared packaging rather than individual wraps: This can help reduce the overall use of materials.